By By EDWIN MODLIN II
edwin@wdnweb.com
Staff Writer
WASHINGTON – The first recorded death of a firefighter, a hero who gave his life over 100 years ago in the line of duty, is remembered by the State of North Carolina.
According to Robbie Rose, Fire Chief for Washington Fire-Rescue-EMS, Edward Peed was killed in the line of duty while putting out a fire in 1902.
Rose said the Human Relations Council has been working toward installing a new monument at Beebe Park to memorialize Peed, a nozzelman who was killed when a burning wall fell on him, Feb. 8, 1902.
“This is something that reminds us, every day, of why we do what we do,” Rose said of Peed’s monument stone in a gardened area at the Washington Fire Company. “So that others may live.”
Rose added the volunteer fire company that Peed was a member of was known as the Salamander Fire Company, an all black fire company comprised of the most outstanding black men in the community.
According to documents and news reports by the News &Observer, the fire that erupted on Feb. 8, 1902 started at the Atlantic Coast Line Road freight warehouse on the Washington waterfront around 5 p.m.
Michael Legeros, author and former member of the Raleigh Fire Department, is an advocate for the North Carolina Fallen Firefighters Foundation, which focuses on the support of North Carolina fallen firefighters and their families.
Legeros said the fire was caused by a defective flue and the fire spread rapidly.
“First to the grain elevator building, then to the Hoyt Building and then on to a warehouse at the rear of the H. Susman Furniture Company,” he said. “Several railroad cars were also engulfed, along with a number of sheds along the waterfront. As the town’s volunteer fire companies battled wind-fed flames and exploding powder kegs, telegrams were sent to Rocky Mount, Tarboro and Greenville to send fire engines. However, it was reported ‘under control’ at 8:30 p.m. and all help stopped.”
Legeros added at 9:22 p.m., Peed was spraying a pile of burning rubbish when the western wall of the Hoyt Building collapsed. He was killed instantly.
“A monument was erected by the town’s white citizens and placed at his gravesite,” Legeros said.
According to Rose, Charles Yates, a former fireman with the Washington Fire Company, began a search for the grave of Edward Peed in 1997. Yates finally found the late fireman’s headstone in an old private black cemetery. Although the stone was vandalized, Yates was still able to read the inscription. It read, “In Memory of Edward Peed. Born March 1, 1855. Died Feb. 8, 1902. A member of the Salamander Fire Company for over 20 years. He died at the post of duty.”
Rose said Peed’s death had been forgotten over the years until Yates completed his search. His name is now a part of the history of the Washington Fire Department and in 2000, his monument stone was relocated to a memorial garden at the Washington Fire Company.
Yates, who was a Volunteer Fireman with the Washington Fire Company from 1951 to 1976, wrote this about Peed:
“The volunteer fire company known as the Salamanders wore red helmets and sang as they operated their hand pumps, as a way to coordinate their efforts. Membership in this company was highly prized and the company was composed of the most outstanding black men in the community. The company was led by Professor Sylvester Dibble who, with a partner, operated the only barber shop in Washington.
“In 1904, there were 201 volunteer firefighters in Washington of which 86 were white and 115 were black. Edward Peed was a very worthy colored fireman and all the citizens of Washington regretted his sudden death. Mr. Peed had been a member of the Salamander Fire Company for 20 years and was the first recorded fireman to die at the post of duty here in Washington.”
Yates passed away on May 7, 2006, the day after firefighters from around the state came together on Nash Square in downtown Raleigh to dedicate the North Carolina Fallen Firefighters Monument.
According to Legeros, the fallen heroes whose names, departments and death dates are inscribed on stone plaques, represent line-of-duty firefighter deaths from 1902 to 2005.
“Protectors who made the supreme sacrifice,” he said. “These were men and women who rode engines, drove ambulances, flew helicopters and fought fire as industrial fire brigades.”
According to Rose, the Washington Fire Company will present a new monument in Beebe Park to memorialize Peed in February.